optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: Catholics and climate change
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2014/05/catholics-climate-change.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Catholics and climate change. As I drive streets of my area and elsewhere, I often see cars sporting bumper stickers bearing the legend " I'm Catholic and I Vote. And I often wonder not so much about what the cars' owners mean but what they could mean, for the Catholic Church's teachings on disparate political issues can easily carrying very different political messages for voters in the world of American politics. Finding a...
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: Running dog, trotting
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2013/07/running-dog-trotting.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Running dog, trotting. I had a long ways to go, no need to get there fast, and wanted to save a few bucks. Will admit to some curiosity, too; maybe I just wanted to go looking for America. Crowds of confused passengers milling about, hearing rumors, wondering what's going on, alternating between anger and resignation. Aggravating the problem, many drivers ignore the PA microphone at their elbows, preferring to make impor...
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: September 2013
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Reflections on an international tragedy. The New York Times yesterday published an article describing an "international adoption" of a Russian child by an American family which went horribly wrong, " World of Grief and Doubt after an Adoptee's Death. And the paper asked families with their own international adoption stories to comment. Feels loved by her parents. So the children who do become available for adoption come with...
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: Frustrations in the Social Security application process
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2015/02/frustrations-in-social-security.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Frustrations in the Social Security application process. Okay, now I'm a geezer. But there are advantages. Such as the Senior Pass that'll get in in free to national parks, national monuments, national recreation areas, national wildlife refuges. And Medicare, but that's a whole 'nuther story. Plus there are a few others, like small discounts at lots of retailers . Think hard, and they'll come to you! Hmmmmm. One wonders...
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: October 2013
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2013_10_01_archive.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Fortune for naught, in the face of tragedy. Last week, a locally important two-lane highway was closed for several hours, due to a two-car collision which killed an 86 year old woman. It caused a lot of congestion, being the only east-west highway in the area. The driver apparently at fault, according to Forbes. Magazine, is the seventh richest woman in the world, a former corporate president and a noted philanthropist.
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: Reflections on an international tragedy
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2013/09/reflections-on-international-tragedy.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Reflections on an international tragedy. The New York Times yesterday published an article describing an "international adoption" of a Russian child by an American family which went horribly wrong, " World of Grief and Doubt after an Adoptee's Death. And the paper asked families with their own international adoption stories to comment. Feels loved by her parents. So the children who do become available for adoption come with...
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: February 2012
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Ooh baby, ooh baby. We school bus drivers use the radio to keep in touch. It's pretty amateurish; one hears "10-4" used far more often and far less precisely than one should, but it is useful. Base, this is bus 165; my air pressure is falling so I've parked on the side of Edgewater near .". Base, this is bus 279; I've got a Kindergartner whose parent wasn't there so I' m returning him to his school .". Still, it's a useful t...
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: August 2012
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? It's a fragile thing. I saw a dead man today. Splayed out on the roof of the car that killed him. Two minutes earlier, he had been a living, thinking, feeling being, probably full of plans and hopes and concerns for his future - maybe with a lot on his mind, or maybe just looking forward to getting home from work and relaxing. In the blink of an eye, all of that died with him. gone, in a blinding flash. Native Plants for Hig...
optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com
Optimistic Skepticism: September 2012
http://optimisticskepticism.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? Panic in a big yellow box. Stink bugs. All over the place. Or at least, all over the bus. Soaking in the rays on the sun-warmed yellow metal. On the windows, on the door, on the ceiling, crawling across the seat backs. Add several dozen kids, the inevitable proportion of them still harboring a child's alarm at anything creepy-crawly, the predictable number unable to inhibit their excited reflexes for even a moment. The other...
